I am just over a year out from being able to officially participate in this thread, which is 100 percent the best thing on LetsRun. Every person on here is an inspiration. Keep it up, everyone!
You mean because you've been unable to run? If you're walking, swimming, biking, rolling in a chair: whatever: that's still worth sharing.
Agreed, MP workouts ~15 mikes in length require fresh legs before, and plenty of rest following.
Did you mean “miles”?
No, I think Iggy meant "bikes." There are lots of bikes in Idaho.
Hey hobby joggers! I just checked in and saw the Jobros had upgraded their board system so that I could get my password back! So here I am.
However, I no longer live in KC, we have moved back to Evanston, Illinois, where my wife and I met and married. We moved away 25 years ago but the wife has had health issues so we needed to find home with fewer stairs. We used the occasion to change towns as well.
I'm gearing up for marathon #2. Number 1 was Kansas City a year ago, and it did not go well. But now, looking back at my Garmin data, and knowing what I know now, good god, no wonder I crashed in mile 20....
6:47 6:38 6:39 6:31 6:23
... based on my VDOT I was aiming for a 2:55. To save you the math, that's WAY slower than most of my splits in the first 10 miles. Plus there was 1,000 feet of climbing, most of it in the early miles...I wound up with a 3:12.
It's been a challenging summer, with many distractions, but the Evanston Running Club is first-rate, I run with them 4-5 times a week, such a great group, and I hired a coach to do strength work twice a week.
So I'm going to run Chicago with the 3:00 pace group. My plan is to run nice and steady with the group, and even though improving 12 minutes seems a stretch, I feel like going for it. I ran a 4-miler on the 4th of July in 24:01 and my mileage has been 60-70 miles most of the year, injury free, mostly fun miles. We shall see!
Allen, I feel for you. Feel better, and consider these to be recovery weeks in the running sense as well. I'll read back in the board to see what else is going on with all of you oldies.
The problem is that with my increased mileage, I'm too damn worn down to complete the pace-based workouts that Pfitz wants you to do.
Hey mbtoone - I know Iggy has already weighed in on this, but my coach hasn't had me do more than 6 miles in a row at mp. I've done up to 10 miles mp but in 2 mile chunks with 1 mile recovery in between. So your breaking it up makes perfect sense to me. Pfitz is insane, talented but insane.
The problem is that with my increased mileage, I'm too damn worn down to complete the pace-based workouts that Pfitz wants you to do.
Hey mbtoone - I know Iggy has already weighed in on this, but my coach hasn't had me do more than 6 miles in a row at mp. I've done up to 10 miles mp but in 2 mile chunks with 1 mile recovery in between. So your breaking it up makes perfect sense to me. Pfitz is insane, talented but insane.
In my mid-50s I followed the Daniels Marathon Plan. The one I followed called for two key MP workouts in the last six weeks, one at 14 miles and the other 16 miles. I found them very effective, along with the tempo-long-tempo training (5 x mile tempo pace / 1:00 rest + 6 miles easy + 4 x mile tempo / 1:00 rest).
... based on my VDOT I was aiming for a 2:55. To save you the math, that's WAY slower than most of my splits in the first 10 miles. Plus there was 1,000 feet of climbing, most of it in the early miles...I wound up with a 3:12. ...
So I'm going to run Chicago with the 3:00 pace group. My plan is to run nice and steady with the group, and even though improving 12 minutes seems a stretch, I feel like going for it. I ran a 4-miler on the 4th of July in 24:01 and my mileage has been 60-70 miles most of the year, injury free, mostly fun miles. We shall see!
KC, good to see you back. That's some impressive running and racing. Sub-3 at Chicago surely seems a reasonable goal. Remind me how old you are. My recollection is we're about the same age? I'm 63. Sub-3 over 60 puts you in the stratosphere for American marathoning, I'd say.
When were those five 1-mile splits? Before the half? That's really movin'.
I recall we both worked with Kevin C. A good guy. Hope he's doing well.
I shuffle-jogged a full mile today. Shuffling to avoid tearing out my stitches. The incisions are still pretty nasty looking. Best wishes at Chicago! Run well.
I shuffle-jogged a full mile today. Shuffling to avoid tearing out my stitches. The incisions are still pretty nasty looking.
Wow, shuffle running! A man who will not be stopped.
I'm 57. Sub-3 would have won my AG last year when it was baking hot, but this year I doubt it will even be top 10. Which is fine! I have not run a good endurance race in almost two years. Yes, those ridiculous splits came in the first few miles. The half marathon where I PRd, I hovered right around my goal pace the whole race. That's the point of the pace group -- to keep me from activating bunny mode. Also, if it's not my day to go sub-3, running with the group will make it more likely I fade (and still PR) than crash (and live another year with this &%@#!! 3:12 PR).
Off to watch another YouTuber explain Chicago Marathon to me ...
KCgeezer, good luck with your 3:00 plan for Chicago.
My short summary report for the previous 2 weeks. Two days after the 5K race in the pouring rain on Sep. 23 got a calf problem, out of the blew. Started an easy 5 mile run and in two miles got a sort of “light cramp”. Could walk no problem, but any attempt to resume running failed. The same situation on the next day. So, I switched to an elliptical trainer where there was no problem with the injured calf at all. Did not run for 10 days until this Thu. when I tested it in order to understand whether I was able to run 10K in two days (i.e. today) or not. Everything was fine.
10k today was a sort of a “county level” event on the US/UK scale. But since the course was flat (the only negative thing was 4 tight U-turns) and the weather was ideal – 50F, no rain, slight wind – I started thinking of a 60+ PR (the previous was 39:34 in 2021), or, as minimum, a season best (39:58).
Started with a group that was running at 3:51-3:52 per km (6:12-6:14/mile) and felt OK though had no illusion and knew it was a bit fast for me. But after 3 km there were only one guy and me, the rest were left well behind. I suggested the guy to keep the 3:55-3:56 pace and he agreed, but the 5th km yielded 4:00 only (with 19:31/5km) and instead of accelerating he gave up and lost contact. So, I continued alone with the closest 10K guy way ahead of me (some 100 m). Have to confess that in this situation gave some slack to myself and decided not to press hard and stay at 4:00/km. It was clear that I had some margin to reach my goal and preferred to save some fuel for the final km and also reduce the risk of I injury. Passed the finish line at 39:29 (setting my new 60+ PR) and did not feel exhausted. Think it is above 85% AG (I am 64 now). If it were a "die hard" race, could definitely find some 10-15 sec to take away. Was the 12th all over (of 130+) and the 1st in the 50+ AG.
good week for me in really nice early Fall weather, till watching Commanders' 4th straight loss just now. Seemingly on the way to an epic long game-winning TD drive......only for Wentz to throw an interception at the goal line with a few seconds left. Ouch.
M 1:10
Tu 1:45
W 50:00
Th 1:00
F 1:20 with 2 X 10:00 (2:00 jog) at half-marathon effort (a hair under 7:00/mile pace)
M63, 5'11", 182 lbs Age 23: 16:05, 2:40:30 Age 43: 17:10, 2:56:03 Age 58: 18:58, 3:07:23 May 2022, age 62: 3:44:06
Great racing, Orient. Well done! I watched the Chicago Marathon live stream this morning. Impressive performances, especially amongst the women. Looking forward to the marathon report from KC and from anyone else who tied the line (or any starting line) this morning.
My week: M - 1.0 miles, shuffle jog, some walking Tu- Off W - 1.0 miles, shuffe jog, no walking Th- Off Fr - 1.0 miles, slow jog Sa- Off Su- Off TOTAL: 3.0 MILES
It's likely I won't be "cleared" to jog or run for a few more weeks, so i've been cheating a bit. Trying to be careful, though. Follow-up with surgeon is this Tuesday.
Well done Orient! I watched the Chicago Marathon start and then went out for my 1 hr walking workout this morning, and then watched all the race finishes. While lots of people complain about the TV coverage, I am grateful for any coverage of running.
While this week was definitely an improvement on my post-Covid running, it was another real struggle and I was exhausted this morning. Last week 18 miles, this week 32 miles -
M- 4mi of 2mi easy run, 2 mi 100 hard/100 easy 9:44/mi ave
T- 4mi walk 15:12/mi
W- 4mi walk 14:38/mi
Th- 7mi of AM 4mi of 2mi easy run, 2 mi 100 hard/100 easy 9:21/mi ave; PM 3mi walk
The week following a marathon-turned-mud-run isn’t too bad, physically. Needed a few days to rethink the process. Don’t need to reset. Do need to pick another marathon in the next 10-14 weeks. Could be Kiawah or Mississippi Gulf Coast or Jacksonville or Jekyll Island or Baton Rouge or chocolate cake. T: morning - 30:00 treadmill @ 15:00 pace; afternoon - 30:00 treadmill @ 14:51 pace
Greetings, fellow 50+ers. I hope you all had a great National Hispanic Heritage Month!
So, I am back again. The mini-break I planned for late September while I visited the grandkids turned into an extended break after I caught the flu from the youngest one. At first I thought it was just a head cold and tried to run a couple of times. That was a mistake! I usually get my flu shot in October, but apparently the flu season has started early this year.
Anyway I am once again in “build back better” mode. This past week I worked on building up my volume and will be continuing that work through this coming week. Not surprisingly, the intensity of my runs has taken a step back, but I am optimistic that component will improve in the coming weeks. Fingers crossed! Meanwhile put me down for 16+ slow miles for the week and almost 46 miles for The month of September.
Sun: 35’ CR; body wt ex Mon: off Tue: 46’ CR: body wt ex Wed: off Thu: 46’ running (3); 16 oz curls Fri: off Sat: 56’ CR; body wt ex + med ball routine
M63, 5'11", 185 lbs Age 23: 16:05, 2:40:30 Age 43: 17:10, 2:56:03 Age 58: 18:58, 3:07:23 May 2022, age 62: 3:44:06
Week Number Two after four months off due to health issues:
M - 2.0 miles (11:42, 11:50) Tu- Off W - 2.0 miles (11:46, 11:16) Th- Off F -- 2.0 miles (10:40, 9:22) Sa- Off Su- Off
Thursday was three weeks post surgery. I doubled my mileage from last week's three 1-milers. I was sick with a miserable cold all week (negative Covid) ... first time I've been "sick" in years, not counting chronic tendonitis and the recent trauma injuries and cancer, of course!
This week was 3 weeks post-Covid. My running finally seems to be getting back to normal. Yesterday's trail run felt like my usual Saturday run effort again with my son. 34 miles for the week -
M- 5 miles with 1mi easy, 3 mi at 9:10/mi, 1mi easy
T- 5 miles with 1mi easy, 3 mi at 8:51/mi, 1mi easy
hope you feel better soon. I was just thinking (knock on wood) I haven't been sick in forever either. Maybe a small positive side effect of pandemic-era changes (still under one-half previously normal number of disease vectors, I mean fellow riders, on the subway, e.g.).
Fun week for me ending up with my first x-c race of the year:
M 1:15 with 5 X 2:00 hard uphills (jog down)
Tu 1:00
W 1:30
Th 1:10 with drills/strides
F 2:00
Sa 30:00
Su 55:00 incl. x-c 5k 20:35 (9th OA, 1st AG). Rolling grass/dirt course, no devastating hills. Wet today, near-peak Fall foliage so at least the scenery was nice. 22 sec slower than last time on the course, but that was 3 yrs. ago so I'll take it.
Competed hard to the end, holding off an onrushing youth (age 41) by 0.2 sec. He'd have won if it were 5,002 meters. Thought about drifting wide to block him a la Paul Chelimo, but I didn't want to deal with the criticism on Letsrun, so i just mentally willed the finish line to hurry up and get here.
Olde Farte, I am in a similar situation. My son and one of granddaughters were sick and it seemed like I caught the same virus or bacteria a week ago having spent some time with them. On my side it’s only coughing. 1-2 hours per day I feel in a boundary state between “likely sick” and not sick, the rest of the time I am OK.
What bothers me is the heart rate at rest: in spite of no hard workouts it is about 5 bpm higher than usual (some 55 instead of 50 when I go to sleep, and 50 instead of 45 after wake-up in the morning). Having noticed that, decided to cancel a usual tempo (at LT and faster) and an interval workout. So, only 20 miles this week and 3 days.
Nevertheless, running in a moderate mode went pretty well without any elevated heart rate. Felt comfortable at the 4:32/km pace on a 5K trail at 136-138 bpm, which is about 83% of HRM. Also, HR went down on a usual curve. Fell disappointed with that because planned a 5K race on the next weekend. But if the situation does not improve, will not run to avoid a risk of overloading the cardio system.
Haven't posted for a couple of weeks. Lots of work pressure on time getting ready for a few days away at the World Senior Games.
Previous week before games, mostly easy, but with a bit of a tester one the Wednesday one week before race (mile on road in 6:06 short rest and 400m in about 87), and a last session of 8x200m in about 42-41 sec with 200m jog on the Saturday.
Flew out from Eugene on Tuesday for Wednesday morning race. Found St. George, Utah, is very different from coastal Oregon - edge of the Mojave, with dry desert air and about 3000ft altitude.
They ran 50-69 together (I'm 65-69) and I took first 200m very easy so I could weigh up my fellow 65+ opponents. Caught them before halfway, and then began to chase down the young divisions. Finished fifth overall and 1st 65+ - I think I would have made second or third in each of the younger age groups, and I did get one of the younger division winners of the 5k road race.
After the very slow opening 200m, I settled into very even laps of 95-96, and found I had a lot left for the last lap where I ran 87 sec, accelerating all the way to the line, which my trusty Garmin said I hit at 78 per sec pace. Although I felt OK, HR was much higher than usual going up to 172, a number I haven't seen for years.
Initially, although very happy to have got the W, I was disappointed in the time (11:53) which was 20 seconds slower the the Hayward Classic in the Spring.
However, on some investigating I found that it was the second fastest winning time for the age group (Gary Patton has the record, but he's from another planet to me), and that on Tom 'Tinman' Schwartz altitude conversion table a 11:53 at 2809ft (exact altitude of the track) is worth 11:25 for an unadapted sea-level runner. That's eight seconds quicker than Eugene, and would be ninth on the rankings for outdoor 3000m 65+ this year.
Pleased with that, and I did think the session of 4x800m in 3:01 average with 200m/2:15 recovery did point to being fitter than Eugene, as did HR of only 151 (against max I've seen in recent years of 165) at the end of the 6:06 mile.
Having a week off now, before gradually picking up again. Going to try more hills after reading this
Training theory: output at VO2 max while climbing may have a high predictive value for athlete progression and regression over time, particularly with age. Constant reinforcement of this metric may improve performance at all...
Going to also try and put in some strength training (currently virtually none) and cycling or eliptical instead of some of the short recovery runs.
The high HR at altitude apart, I generally feel I don't have the leg power to use my full aerobic capability - on the basis of a high of 165, and my current training Garmin thinks I should run 17:44 for 5k not my current 19:49. While 17:44 is not happening, I'm sure a lot of the gap between the two is down to not having the leg strength/power to sustain a higher percentage of my max HR - I only average 149 in the 19:49 5k.